A Chain of Gold
by BlueberryKittyFanfics
Summary: An alteration in Rosa's back story, which includes an OC I came up with. This was a request from one of my adoring readers and favourite anime reviewers, TheHeroKid42 (see author's note). Enjoy :) ONE-SHOT, and rated M for blood and swearing (I have no clue how sensitive you guys are, so there).


Author's Note: Many thanks to TheHeroKid for requesting this. It's been fun chatting with you and spamming you with fanfic updates these past few months. Hope you have a Happy Christmas and enjoy this short one-shot ^^. Also special thanks to my boyfriend Justin, who helped with the translations ^^.

I ran, the worn out soles of my shoes providing little protection against the cold stone floor. The leathery weight in my hands growing heavier as I continued to run. A man in purple and green robes bellowing for guards to catch me, calling for the hands that robbed him of a mere speck of his fortune. I turned a corner and just when I thought I lost the angry nobleman, I came face to face with a rearing stallion, and the guard struggling to stay on it's back. I fell on to my back in shock, the guard staring down at me and the purse in my hand. My breathing was heavy as he held out his hand, expecting me to give him what clearly wasn't mine. He watched as I got to my feet, he smiled for a moment, thinking I would part with the purse. His eyes dark and the hair on his lip framing a dark smile, which abruptly became a frown as I sprinted and dove into the cold Venetian waters.

The purse was still firm in my grasp as I swam away, no one in my pursuit, I had assumed they thought the gold in my hand was worthless to them. The coin in my hands would mean a hearty meal for tonight and tomorrow, it was worth every gold coin to me. I heaved a sigh of relief as I climbed out of the water, people looked on in disgust as they saw me. I retreated into the alleyways, making my way to the market, they wouldn't turn their nose up at gold, regardless of the hand it came from.

At the market, I set my eyes on a loaf of a bread on the table of one of the stalls. For a moment it was there within my sights, no need to steal it this time, the last loaf of bread laid out in the basket. I was just about to take it when a rush of short dark hair and linen rushed past and stole the bread. The hollow basket spun slowly on the table before falling to the floor and rolling at my feet. The fat baker shook his fist in anger, while I could only stare after the thief who took my prize. I looked back at the stall, cursing the bastardo who took my prize from me. I chased after the thief, who was already savoring the prize in the alleyway. I was tempted to snatch the other half that would have been rightfully mine had this thief not taken it. The mysterious thief simply looked up at me, eyes narrowed as the thief held the half loaf of bread close, I reached for the bread but the thief ran further away into the darkness of the alleyway. I couldn't tell if the thief was a boy or a girl, but it didn't matter because the culo took my meal for the night. I tried to run after the thief but my stomach growled in protest, the purse in my hand fuller than my belly.

Making my way back to the market, I felt like a dog seeking a bone in the dark, cold alleyway. Until I finally found an inn that offered me a bowl of stew and a place to stay for the night. Everyone else looked at me strangely as I ate, I was small and skinny for my fifteen years. A simple ragazzo in their eyes, a child who knew nothing of the world, yet I had seen the world at it's worst. Left on the streets to beg and starve as a child, it was only natural that my bony fingers would soon pry for the things that gave my life ease. I had no name, no family, no home to return to, I was simply a creature that fought to survive in the shadows on the city. I would never know the person who gave my hair the colour of crow feathers, or eyes the color of dirt. Any coin that meant nothing to the nobles I was taking it from. At times I wondered how none of the guards had taken my hands away, I suppose I was lucky for a thief. The coin in my hand would soon fade away, I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted, as I slept in that warm bed at the inn.

The weeks went by and the coin was gone, only a fistful of leather remained in the palm of my hand. I didn't want to starve, I didn't want to return to a life of wasting away on the streets. An opportunity presented itself one afternoon, when I was perched atop a roof, watching as a dark haired man left what looked like a small room. He closed the door behind him and left, as I looked around the compound, I noticed it was hardly the home of a rich nobleman. Still, there was likely to be something of value here and I intended to leave no stone unturned. At that moment I also the same thief from a few weeks ago enter that same room. With haste I climbed down and chased after her, I was certain that someone saw me but I didn't care, I was going to claim that prize first.

When I burst into the room, the thief was rummaging through the boxes inside the room and scolded me to be quiet. The thief's voice sounded higher than a boy's I had noticed, the thief opened one of the drawers and pulled out a gold chain. I wasn't going to let this figlio di puttana take my prize from me again. My hands grasped the gold chain trying to take it, but my opponent would not let it go. I took a closer look at the thief's face, only to realise my opponent was a girl, or at least looked like one. I continued to fight with her over the chain, she continued to spout every cruel obscenity she could think of. The chain was cutting into my calloused hands as she tried to pull it away from me, and I tried to pull back harder. The door opened and we both looked up in fear, the dark haired man who had left this place just now had returned. We were fighting over his prize trying to claim it as our own, the gold chain would be the last thing that our hands would touch before we lose them. We were surprised when he simply laughed and took the chain out of our prying hands, realising it from our bitter feud. The man we would soon discover, had kept his chain and gained two new apprentices.

Years later, I couldn't say that we would want for nothing, but life in the guild was better than life on the street. I had gained a name Dante, a name which would make me seem more regal than I was. I had also gained companions, Ugo and Franco, the rest were beaten black and blue by my former rival, Rosa. Antonio, the one who had taught us a trade we knew too well, had become like a father to us…much to Rosa's irritation.

Life in the guild had taken an odd turn, the day Rosa and Ugo left that morning. No one imagined that they would return with a dead body, a wounded Rosa screaming and spouting every obscenity she knew, a deeply frustrated and dubious Ugo and a mysterious stranger dressed in white...Ugo helped carry Rosa inside, and I thought I would be of better use if I helped him. As I left I saw the mysterious stranger conversing with Antonio. I felt like I had seen this person before, that there was something peculiar about him, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. It was clear that he was infamous, I had seen the wanted posters of this particular stranger. Once inside, the room had the faint smell of blood in the air. I saw the blood on Ugo's hands and Rosa's leg, it was a wonder that no one else had died when they returned. Rosa could only glare and wince as her wound was attended to, soon it would be bound tightly in white cloth. "What do you want stronzo?" she muttered as she sat upright with her bandaged leg. I shook my head, what was the point of being a name when someone would simply pretend he didn't have one anyways.

"Oh nothing, just wondering how a thief returns with an arrow in the leg, being carried by stranger who's face is on wanted posters?" I joked, and she only gave me a small smile for my efforts.

"I suppose the same way I ended up fighting with a stronzo over a necklace" she said, remembering the failed theft from years ago. Though we both failed, we gained a home and a warm bed, though continuing to use talents that we had gained from the past.

In the next few weeks the stranger came and went, Ugo was dubious of him while Rosa had taken in a liking to him (in the way she knew how). I pitied the man, he was awoken at ungodly hours to race Rosa on the rooftops. She was the best climber in the thieves guild, and she wanted everyone to be certain of that. I myself had no talent for climbing at all, so I was of no threat to Rosa's abilities. It spared me being woken up early in the mornings, and I still brought in my fair share of loot into the guild. No one, not Ugo, Rosa, Antonio or even myself could have believed what the mysterious stranger did for mere thieves like ourselves.

Translations:  
>bastardo - bastard<br>culo- ass  
>ragazzo - young boy<br>figlio di puttana - son of a bitch  
>stronzo - asshole<p> 


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